Time to act: fossil fuel divestment

Students call for fossil fuel divestment at St John’s College

Last week Oxford students occupied St John’s College in protest at its £8.1m fossil fuel investments. The students held up placards reading “We can’t eat money or drink oil”, “Fossil Fuels are History” and “Wake up Fossil Fools”. As they endured the overnight cold in their tents, the college’s response included attempts to keep out sleeping bags and blankets, deactivating the students’ key fobs, and a proposal from the Bursar that he could “arrange for the gas central heating in college to be switched off with immediate effect”. Calling themselves “Direct Action for Divestment“, the campaign group was supported by the Oxford Climate Justice Campaign, XR Oxford and other climate activists.

The protests follow student campaigns all over the country supported by national student-led campaign charity People & Planet and others, which have resulted in 78 of the 154 public universities in the UK committing to divest from fossil fuels at least partially (including Oxford). Oxford colleges are also beginning to take action: Balliol College announced recently it would start to divest its funds from fossil fuel companies, following similar commitments by Wadham, St Hilda’s, Wolfson and Oriel.

But there is a long way to go to “end this madness”, and the campaigns continue. In support of the student protests, over 700 Oxford Alumni have published an open letter pledging to withhold donations “until the University of Oxford makes a commitment to full fossil fuel divestment”. As the UK prepares for the 2020 international climate talks in Glasgow and the world wakes up to our climate emergency, now is the time to act.

As individuals, we may sometimes feel powerless. But there are things we can do. Writer and activist Bill McKibbensuggests we “look for traction”, highlighting half of the UK universities that have already responded to divestment campaigns. Here are some steps we can take:

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